Song Lee in Room 2B

Table of Contents

 

PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers,
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand

 

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

 

First published in the United States ofAmerica by Viking,
a division of Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993
Published in Puffin Books, 1995
Reissued 1999

Text copyright © Suzy Kline, 1993 Illustrations copyright © Frank Remkiewicz, 1993

All rights reserved

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE VIKING EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Kline, Suzy.
Song Lee in Room 2B / Suzy Kline; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.
p. cm.
Summary: Spring becomes a memorable time for Miss Mackle's second-grade
classroom because of the antics of Horrible Harry and the
special insights of shy Song Lee.

eISBN : 978-1-101-07784-9

[1. Schools—Fiction. 2. Korean Americans—Fiction.]
I. Remkiewicz, Frank, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.K6797So 1993 [Fic]-dc20 92-41523 CIP AC

 

 

 

 

RL: 2.4

M
iss Mackle looked out the window of Room 2B. “It's snowing in March?”

Harry jumped out of his seat. “Hot dog! Come and see, Doug.”

“All right!” I said, slapping Harry five. It was fun watching the snow stick to the playground and treetops.

When I turned around, everybody was up at the windows.

Except Song Lee.

The teacher smiled at her. “You have permission to leave your seat.”

“Thank you, Miss Mackle.”

Miss Mackle sighed. “I wish everyone in our second grade class had your good manners, Song Lee.”

“STOP PUSHING!” Dexter shouted.

Harry held up a fist. “You're in my face. Move over, scuzzball.”

Dexter put up two fists. “Make me, lizard breath.”

“Harry and Dexter are fighting,” Sidney called.

Miss Mackle waved her hands in the air. “That's it! Everyone sit down.”

Harry and I shot Sidney a look. His tattling always got us in trouble.

After we returned to our seats, Miss Mackle looked at the class.

No one was smiling.

Most of us were moaning.

“I think we all have a case of cabin fever,” Miss Mackle said.

“What's that?” Mary asked.

“It happens when people are cooped up in one place for a long time. Everyone gets grumpy.”

“GGGGGrrrrr,”
Harry
growled,
as he stood up and dangled his arms like a monster.

Song Lee giggled.

“I wish I could fly this coop and go to Texas,” I grumbled.

Miss Mackle snapped her fingers. “Doug, you just gave me an idea! It's time for Room 2B to take a vacation.”

“YEAH!” we all shouted.

Mary counted the days on our bird calendar. “How can we? Spring break is two weeks away.”

Miss Mackle held up the globe, and spun it once. “The mind can take you anywhere! For homework tonight, each one of you will prepare a talk, and take us to your favorite vacation spot. Tell us what it is like. Bring in family pictures, maps, or brochures if you have them.”

“I never go anywhere,” I groaned.

“Me, either,” Sidney replied.

Song Lee raised her hand. She looked like she was going to cry.

“Yes?” Miss Mackle said.

“I feel sick.”

I looked at Song Lee. She wasn't really sick. She just didn't want to stand in front of the class and give a talk.

Whenever the class had a play, Song Lee had a silent part, like a dead fish or Little Miss Muffet.

Miss Mackle put her hand on Song Lee's forehead. “You aren't warm. Is your stomach bothering you?”

Song Lee nodded. “I feel sick and sad all morning.”

“Really? A moment ago you were giggling at Harry.”

Song Lee looked down at her desk.

Miss Mackle patted her head. “Don't worry, Song Lee. You can give a short little talk tomorrow.”

When the teacher left, Song Lee took out her pink cherry-blossom handkerchief.

“Are you crying?” I asked.

Song Lee sniffed a few times.

When she caught her breath she whispered, “If I don't give talk tomorrow, I get zero on homework chart.”

“Don't worry,” Harry said, putting his elbow on my desk. “You'll never have as many zeros as me.”

I looked over at the homework chart. Song Lee's row of red stars was twice as long as Harry's. “Gee, you've never gotten a zero!”

Song Lee wiped her eyes. “I don't feel well. I stay home ... write story about vacation. Mother bring story in and Miss Mackle give me red star on yellow homework chart.”

“If you stay home, you'll miss my talk,” I said.

“And
mine,”
Harry added, flashing his white teeth and making his thick eyebrows go up and down.

Song Lee giggled.

Harry could always make her laugh. Even now, when she had tears in her eyes.

“You
have
to come tomorrow,” we said.

The next morning when the bell rang, Song Lee was not in her seat. The words PUBLIC SPEAKING were written on the board. By 9:30, five people had already talked about Disney World, Sea World, and Epcot Center. Lots of brochures were passed around. Posters and souvenirs were displayed on the chalkboard.